Playa del Norte debate reheats in San Clemente

Jan. 19, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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People gather on the lawn next to the Ole Hanson Beach Club in San Clemente during a tour last spring of the North Beach lot where most of the Playa del Norte commercial village would be. The poles in the background represented planned building heights. The "story poles" were removed after the City Council approved the project. FRED SWEGLES, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

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This image shows what the planned Playa del Norte development in San Clemente would look like on a currently city-owned parking lot in the North Beach area. FILE PHOTO

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This is an artist's rendering of a portion of Playa del Norte that would face Calle Deshecha and Avenida Pico. COURTESY OF LAB HOLDING

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This sketch shows how Playa del Norte might look next to San Clemente's Ole Hanson Beach Club in what is now a beach parking lot. The project has been tweaked since this sketch, adding more space between Playa del Norte and the beach club. COURTESY OF CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE

People gather on the lawn next to the Ole Hanson Beach Club in San Clemente during a tour last spring of the North Beach lot where most of the Playa del Norte commercial village would be. The poles in the background represented planned building heights. The "story poles" were removed after the City Council approved the project. FRED SWEGLES, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

SAN CLEMENTE – With a public referendum seven weeks away, passions are running high about Playa del Norte, a proposed commercial development on city-owned land in the North Beach area.

At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, residents and council members argued about whether the city should erect tall wooden poles at the project site or publish photos of them on the city website to represent the height and mass of the planned buildings.

Story poles were at the site early last year but were removed after the council approved the long-disputed development on a 3-2 vote in July.

The city maintains what it calls an informational display about Playa del Norte on the city website in advance of the March 8 referendum, known as Measure A.

City staff said story poles are meant to be seen in person, in 3D, while photo representations on the website would be in 2D and wouldn't do justice. Measure A opponents wanted either story poles erected or pictures posted on the website.

Councilman Tim Brown said such information is valuable to voters and the city should put it out. Brown and Councilman Bob Baker also asserted that before-and-after photo simulations don't use the same photo twice, with the project superimposed the second time. Baker said separate photos are used and that the "after" picture uses a nicer photo than the "before" photo.

Other council members rejected that notion.

Project opponent Ricardo Nicol, who designed a park plan that he calls an alternative to Playa del Norte, asked the council to remove pictures and text from the city's website that he said are misleading and favorable to Playa del Norte. He said the material lists positives about the project without mentioning that they are mitigations of adverse effects, and he said pictures purportedly of Playa del Norte represent other places, not the project.

City Manager George Scarborough replied that City Attorney Jeff Oderman will review the material and report back on whether he believes it should be stricken.

Nicol said the city risks having a court rule that the material places the city in an advocacy position on Measure A, when the city claims to merely be disseminating information.

Kathryn Stovall Dennis, a Measure A supporter, said opponents have been systematically stripping yard signs promoting the measure from an entire block and removing, vandalizing or covering other pro-A signs and banners while leaving "No on A" signs intact.

"It is getting ugly early," she said, calling it demoralizing, costly and anger-inducing. She appealed to everyone to play by the rules.

Mayor Lori Donchak, a Measure A supporter, said her own signs were stolen from her yard. "I see people smiling in the audience," she said. "I think it's pathetic. San Clemente has to be better than this. We have to stay focused on healthy, honest discourse. It's not funny."

Former Councilman Wayne Eggleston, a Measure A opponent, challenged Measure A supporter Bill Hart to a debate, and local resident Larry Corwin offered a $500 scholarship in a student essay contest about Measure A, regardless of the students' viewpoints.

Project supporters say: This is a public/private partnership that will create new ocean views, become a gathering place, establish a new gateway to town and help spur further upgrades in an area the city has struggled for decades to improve.

Opponents say: It's a land grab, is too big, will block existing views, displace convenient beach parking and subsidize the developer's acquisition of coastal land the city acquired by eminent domain decades ago for beach parking.

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